The social-democrats struggle for the liberation of the entire working people from all robbery, from all oppression, from all injustice. In order to liberate itself, the working class must first of all unite. And in order to unite, it is necessary to have the freedom to associate, the right to associate; it is necessary to have political freedom. We have already said that autocratic rule is the enserfment of the people to officials and police. Political freedom is therefore necessary to the entire people, except for a handful of courtiers and bigwigs and dignitaries with access to the court. But political freedom is needed above all by workers and peasants. Rich people can buy themselves off from the arbitrariness, from the despotism of officials and police. Rich people can lodge their complaints high. Therefore, the police and officials are far less likely to take liberties with rich people than with the poor. Workers and peasants have nothing with which to buy themselves off from the police and officials, no one to complain to, no means to go to court. Workers and peasants will never rid themselves of extortion, despotism, and outrages by the police and officials so long as there is no elective government in the state, so long as there is no national assembly of deputies. Only such a national assembly of deputies can free the people from enserfment to officials. Every conscious peasant ought to stand with the social-democrats, who demand from the tsarist government first and foremost[39] the convocation of a national assembly of deputies. Deputies should be elected by all, without distinction of estate, without distinction of rich and poor. The election should be free, without any interference from officials; the order of elections should be overseen by trusted people, not by constables and not by land captains. Then deputies from the entire people will be able to discuss all the people's needs, will be able to establish the best order in Russia[40].

The social-democrats demand that the police not dare to jail anyone without trial. Officials must be strictly punished for arbitrary arrest. In order to stop the lawlessness of officials, it is necessary to arrange things so that the people themselves elect officials, so that everyone has the right to lodge a complaint directly in court against any official. But what is the use of complaining to a constable to the zemstvo chief or to the zemstvo chief to the governor? Of course, the zemstvo chief will only cover up the constable, and the governor will cover up the zemstvo chief, and the complainant will moreover get it in the neck. They will jail him or exile him to Siberia. Officials will only be frightened when everyone in Russia (as in all other states) has the right to submit complaints both to the national assembly and to an elective court and to speak freely about their needs or to publish in newspapers.

The Russian people up to now remain in a state of serfdom to officials. Without permission from the officials, the people dare not hold a meeting, nor print a book or newspaper! Is this not serfdom? If one cannot hold a free meeting, cannot print a free book, then how is one to get justice against the officials and the rich? Of course, officials forbid every truthful book, forbid every truthful word about the people's needs. That is why this book must be printed secretly by the social-democratic party and distributed secretly: everyone in whose possession this book is found will be dragged through courts and jails. But the working social-democrats are not afraid of this: they print more and more truthful books and give them to the people to read. And no prisons, no persecutions will stop the struggle for the people's freedom!

The social-democrats demand that estates be abolished, that all citizens of the state be completely equal in rights. Now we have non-taxed and taxed estates, there are privileged and unprivileged classes, there is the "white bone" and "black bone"; for the black people the rod is still even retained. In no other country is there such humiliation of workers and peasants. In no other country are there different laws for different estates, except Russia. It is time for the Russian people to demand that every peasant have all the rights that a nobleman has. Is it not a disgrace that more than forty years after the abolition of serfdom the rod is still in use, that there is still a taxed estate?

The social-democrats demand for the people full freedom of movement and occupations. What does freedom of movement mean? It means that a peasant has the right to go where he wishes, to settle wherever he likes, to choose any village or any city, without asking anyone for permission. It means that in Russia too passports should be abolished (in other states there have been no passports for a long time), that no constable, no land official dare hinder any peasant from settling and working where he wishes. The Russian peasant is still so enslaved to officials that he cannot freely move to the city, cannot freely go to new lands. The minister issues orders so that governors shall not permit unauthorized resettlement! The governor knows better than the peasant where the peasant should go! The peasant is a little child, and without authorities dares not take a step! Is this not serfdom? Is this not an outrage against the people, when every bankrupt nobleman gives orders to adult proprietors—agriculturalists?

There is a book called "Bad Harvest and National Calamity" (famine), written by the present "minister of agriculture," Mr. Ermolov. In this book it is plainly said: the peasant should not resettle when local lords—landowners—need workers' hands. The minister speaks openly, without shame, thinks that the peasant will not hear such speeches and will not understand them. Why release the people when lords—landowners—need cheap workers? The more densely the people live, the more profitable for the landowners, the greater the need, the cheaper they will hire themselves, the more meekly they will endure all manner of oppression. Previously the bailiffs watched for the master's profit, but now the zemstvo officials and governors watch. Previously the bailiffs ordered punishment in the stable, but now the zemstvo officials order flogging in the volost administration.

The social-democrats demand that a standing army be abolished and that in its place a popular militia be introduced, that all the people be armed. A standing army is an army separated from the people and prepared for the purpose of shooting at the people. If a soldier were not locked up for several years in barracks and not brutally drilled there, could a soldier shoot at his brothers, at workers and peasants? Could a soldier march against hungry peasants? For the defense of the state against attack by an enemy, a standing army is not at all necessary; for this purpose a popular militia suffices. If every citizen of the state is armed, then no enemy can be frightening to Russia. And the people would be freed from the oppression of militarism: militarism costs hundreds of millions of rubles a year, all this money is collected from the people, and that is why taxes are so high and life becomes harder and harder. Militarism further increases the power of officials and police over the people. Militarism is necessary in order to rob foreign peoples, for example, to seize land from the Chinese. The people are not made easier by this, but even harder on account of new taxes. The replacement of a standing army by the arming of all the people would bring enormous relief to all workers and all peasants.

In exactly the same way, an enormous relief for them would be the abolition of indirect taxes, which the social-democrats are striving for. Indirect taxes are those taxes which are not taken directly from the land or from the economy, but are paid by the people indirectly, in the form of higher prices for goods. The treasury imposes a tax on sugar, vodka, kerosene, matches, and all manner of other articles of consumption; the merchant or manufacturer pays this tax to the treasury, but of course not from his own money, but from the money paid to him by buyers. The price of vodka, sugar, kerosene, matches rises, and every buyer of a bottle of vodka or a pound of sugar pays not only the price of the goods but also the tax on it. For example, if you pay, let us say, fourteen kopecks for a pound of sugar, then four (approximately) kopecks constitute the tax: the sugar manufacturer has already paid this tax to the treasury and now collects the paid sum from each buyer. Thus, indirect taxes are taxes on articles of consumption, taxes which the buyer pays in the form of an increased price of goods. It is sometimes said that indirect taxes are the most just: whoever buys as much pays as much. But this is untrue. Indirect taxes are the most unjust taxes, because the poor find it much harder to pay them than the rich. The rich receive an income ten times greater than a peasant or worker, or even a hundred times greater. But does the rich person need a hundred times more sugar? Ten times more vodka or matches? or kerosene? Of course not. A rich family will buy kerosene, vodka, sugar twice or, at most, three times as much as a poor family. But this means that the rich person will pay out of his income a smaller proportion in the form of tax than the poor person. Let us suppose the income of a poor peasant is two hundred rubles a year; let us suppose he buys sixty rubles worth of such goods as are subject to duty and which have therefore risen in price (sugar, matches, kerosene—excise has been imposed, that is, the manufacturer pays the duty even before releasing the goods to market; on state vodka the treasury has directly raised the price; on calicos, iron, and other goods the price has risen because cheap foreign goods are not allowed into Russia without a high tariff). Out of these sixty rubles—twenty rubles will constitute the tax. This means that out of every ruble of his income the poor person will give ten kopecks in the form of indirect taxes (not counting direct taxes, redemption payments, quitrents, land taxes, zemstvo, volost, and village taxes). And a rich peasant's income is a thousand rubles; he will buy a hundred and fifty rubles worth of goods subject to duty; he will pay in tax (out of these hundred and fifty) fifty rubles. This means that the rich person out of every ruble of his income will give in the form of indirect taxes only five kopecks. The richer a person is, the less he pays out of his income in indirect tax. Therefore indirect taxes are the most unjust. Indirect taxes are taxes on the poor. Peasants and workers together constitute 9/10 of the entire population and pay 9/10 or 8/10 of all indirect taxes. But out of all income peasants and workers receive, surely, no more than 4/10! And so the social-democrats demand the abolition of indirect taxes and the establishment of a progressive tax on incomes and inheritances. This means: the greater the income, the higher the tax should be. Whoever has a thousand rubles income, let him pay one kopeck per ruble; whoever has 2000—but two kopecks and so on. The very smallest incomes (for example, incomes not exceeding four hundred rubles) pay nothing at all. The very largest rich persons pay the very largest taxes. Such a tax, an income tax or, more precisely, a progressive income tax, would be far more just than indirect taxes. The social-democrats therefore strive for the abolition of indirect taxes and the establishment of a progressive income tax. But of course, all proprietors, all the bourgeoisie do not want this and oppose it. Only a firm union of rural poor with urban workers can wrest this improvement from the bourgeoisie.

Finally, a very important improvement for the entire people, and for the rural poor especially, consists in free education of children, which the social-democrats demand. At present in the countryside there are far fewer schools than in the cities, and besides, only the rich classes, only the bourgeoisie, have the opportunity to give their children a good education. Only free and compulsory education of all children can free the people at least partly from their present darkness. And the rural poor especially suffer from darkness and especially need education. But, of course, we need real, free education, not the kind the officials and priests want.

The social-democrats further demand that everyone have the full right to profess any faith whatsoever completely freely. Only in Russia and in Turkey among the European states have there remained shameful laws against people of a different, non-Orthodox faith, against schismatics, sectarians, and Jews. These laws either directly forbid a certain faith, or forbid its propagation, or deprive people of a certain faith of some rights. All these laws are the most unjust, the most violent, the most shameful. Everyone should have full freedom not only to hold any faith whatsoever but also to spread any faith and to change faith. No official should even have the right to ask anyone about their faith: this is a matter of conscience, and no one has the right to interfere here. There should be no "dominant" faith or church. All faiths, all churches should be equal before the law. Priests of various faiths may be paid by those who belong to their faiths, but the state from state funds should not support any faith, should not give salaries to any priests, neither Orthodox nor schismatic nor sectarian nor any other. This is what the social-democrats are fighting for, and until these measures are implemented without any equivocation and without any loopholes, the people will not be freed from shameful police persecution for faith and from no less shameful police subsidies to one particular faith.

We have examined what improvements the social-democrats are striving for for the entire people and especially for the poor. Now let us see what improvements they are striving for for workers, not only factory and urban workers, but also rural workers. Factory and plant workers live more crowded, more compressed; they work in large workshops; it is easier for them to use the help of social-democrats from educated people. For all these reasons, urban workers began the struggle against their employers much earlier than all others and have achieved more significant improvements, and have also achieved the enactment of factory laws. But the social-democrats are waging a struggle for the same improvements for all workers: both for artisans working for employers at home, both in cities and in villages—and for hired workers of small masters and craftsmen—and for construction workers (carpenters, masons, and others)—and for forest workers and for day laborers—and for rural workers in exactly the same way. All these workers are now beginning throughout Russia to unite, following the factory workers and with their help, to unite for the struggle for better living conditions, for a shorter working day, for higher wages. And the social-democratic party sets itself the task of supporting all workers in their struggle for a better life, of helping all of them organize (unite) into firm unions of the most steadfast and reliable workers, of helping them by distributing booklets and leaflets, by sending experienced workers to newcomers, and generally by helping in every way possible. When we achieve political freedom, then we will have our own people in the national assembly of deputies, worker-deputies, social-democrats, and they will, like their comrades in other countries, demand the enactment of laws for the benefit of workers.

We will not here enumerate all those improvements which the social-democratic party is striving for on behalf of workers: these improvements are listed in the program and explained in detail in the booklet "The Workers' Cause in Russia." Here it will suffice for us to name the main ones of these improvements. The working day should be no more than eight hours a day. One day a week should always be free from work for rest. Overtime work should be completely forbidden, as well as night work. Children should receive free education until age 16 and therefore should not be allowed to be hired for work until this age. In harmful industries women should not work. For all injuries sustained at work, the employer should compensate the workers—for example, for injuries caused to those working with threshers, winnowers, and the like. Payment should be made to all hired workers always weekly, not once every two months or every quarter year, as often happens with hired rural work. It is very important for workers to receive their wages regularly every week and always in actual money, not in goods. Employers very much love to foist all manner of worthless goods upon workers at triple price in payment of wages; in order to stop this outrage, it is necessary to absolutely forbid by law the payment of wages in goods. Then, aged workers should receive a pension from the state. Workers support by their labor all the rich classes and the entire state, and therefore they have no less right to a pension than officials who receive one. In order that employers dare not abuse their position and violate the rules established for the benefit of workers, inspectors should be appointed not only over factories but also over large landlord enterprises, in general over all enterprises employing hired workers. But these inspectors should not be officials, should not be appointed by ministers or governors, should not be in the service of the police. Inspectors should be elected workers; the treasury should pay a salary to those trusted people from the workers whom the workers themselves freely elect. And such elected worker deputies should also watch over the fact that workers' dwellings are properly maintained, that employers dare not force workers to live in some dog kennels and dugouts (as often happens in rural work), that the rules about worker rest are observed, and so on. In this connection one must not forget that no elected worker deputies will bring any benefit so long as there is no political freedom, so long as the police is all-powerful and irresponsible before the people. Everyone knows that the police now arrests without trial not only worker deputies but any worker who dares speak out for everyone, to expose violations of the law and to call workers to unite. But when we have political freedom, then worker deputies will bring great benefit.

All employers (manufacturers, landowners, contractors, rich peasants) should be absolutely forbidden to make any arbitrary deductions from workers' wages, for example, deductions for defective goods, deductions in the form of fines, and the like. It is lawlessness and violence for employers to arbitrarily make deductions from workers' wages. To reduce a worker's wages in any form and through any deductions the employer should not be permitted. The employer should not himself administer justice and punishment (a fine judge indeed, who pockets deductions from a worker's wages!), but should appeal to a real court, and this court should be elected from deputies from workers and employers in equal numbers. Only such courts can fairly judge all disputes of employers against workers and workers against employers.

These are the improvements for the entire working class which the social-democrats are striving for. Workers in each estate, in each economic enterprise, with each contractor should try to discuss together with reliable people what improvements they need to strive for, what demands they need to make (on different factories, in different economic enterprises, with different contractors the workers' demands will, of course, be different).

Social-democratic committees help workers throughout Russia to precisely and clearly define their demands, and also to issue printed leaflets setting forth these demands so that all workers know them, and the employers, and the authorities. When workers stand firmly, as one man, behind their demands, then employers have to give way and agree. In cities workers have already achieved many improvements in this manner, and now artisans, craft workers, and rural workers too are beginning to unite (organize) and struggle for their demands. While we have no political freedom, we wage this struggle secretly, hiding from the police, which forbids all leaflets and all associations of workers. But when we win political freedom, then we will wage this struggle even more broadly and openly before all, so that all the working people throughout Russia unite and more firmly defend themselves against oppression. The more workers unite in the working social-democratic party, the greater their strength, the sooner they will achieve complete liberation of the working class from all oppression, from all wage labor, from all labor for the bourgeoisie.

We have already said that the social-democratic workers' party is striving for improvements not only for workers but also for all peasants. Let us now see what improvements for all peasants it is striving for.